Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator attends a meeting about the situation in Venezuela at the United Nations in New York on April 10, 2019 in New York City. (JOHANNES EISELE / AFP)
UNITED NATIONS – UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affair Mark Lowcock warned Thursday that Yemen is speeding toward the worst famine the world has seen in decades.
Malnutrition rates are at record highs. Across Yemen, more than 16 million people are going hungry, including 5 million who are just one step away from famine, he told the Security Council in a briefing.
About 400,000 children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished. Those children are in their last weeks and months. These are the children with distended bellies, emaciated limbs and blank stares — they are starving to death, he said.
The lack of funds for humanitarian operations in 2020 has led to the closure of many aid programs, said Mark Lowcock, UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affair
The lack of funds for humanitarian operations in 2020 has led to the closure of many aid programs, said Lowcock. As a result, many hungry families in the north are getting only half as much food aid as they should. The United Nations had to close lots of facilities providing water, sanitation and health services. Many more are under threat of closure because agencies cannot afford to continue the support that keeps them running.
The UN response plan for 2020 received about US$1.9 billion, half of the funds it got the previous year, he said.
This year's response plan will need about 4 billion dollars, roughly the same appeal for 2019. Donors met nearly 90 percent of funding requirements for 2019 and the United Nations managed to prevent famine in Yemen, said Lowcock.
He called for generous donations at next month's high-level pledging conference for Yemen.
There is an important opportunity right now to help Yemen move toward lasting peace. Preventing famine is essential to making that opportunity have a chance to be realized, he said. "The world will have wasted the current opportunity for peace if a massive famine is allowed to take hold."
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Lowcock welcomed the decision of the new US administration to reverse the designation of the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization, as well as Washington's intention to prioritize diplomacy to end the war and to deal with the humanitarian crisis.
Lowcock welcomed the decision of the new US administration to reverse the designation of the Houthi rebels in Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization, as well as Washington's intention to prioritize diplomacy to end the war and to deal with the humanitarian crisis
After years of conflict, the size of Yemen's economy has shrunk by more than a half. Salaries, jobs and livelihoods have all become scarce. COVID-19 has depressed remittances flows from abroad that millions of people were relying on, said Lowcock.
Because Yemen imports nearly everything, the exchange rate is a major factor in what people can buy. Today, the rial is trading about 890 to the U.S. dollar in the south — about a quarter of its value before the war began. In the north, the rate is about three times higher than pre-conflict levels, he noted.
He called on Yemen's partners to work urgently with the government to devise a workable program for foreign exchange injections, which are the quickest way to bring down the exchange rate to more sustainable levels.
There is also a need to ensure essential commodities can reach the country through all ports, he said.
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Fuel imports remain near record lows as a result of a months-long dispute between the parties over import revenue. That dispute is contributing to serious fuel shortages, mainly in the north. Right now, 13 commercial fuel ships are just outside Hodeidah port. On average, they have been waiting 75 days for permission from the government to berth, he noted.
Delivering aid in Yemen is much harder than it should be, said Lowcock.
In the south, challenges mainly include delays in signing project agreements or releasing equipment. Those challenges limit the ability of aid agencies to expand their operations in the south.
In the north, the problems remain more severe. Houthi authorities regularly delay routine processes. They regularly attempt to interfere with aid delivery and they regularly harass aid agencies and staff, he said. "This is unacceptable."
Lowcock expressed sadness and disappointment at the military escalation in Marib governorate.
Until recently, Marib had been relatively safe. Since 2015, about 1 million people have fled there to get away from the war in other areas. Many of these people have fled multiple times, he noted.
"So this escalation is extremely dangerous. It threatens to send hundreds of thousands of people again running for their lives at a time when everyone should be doing everything possible to stop famine," he said.